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Email Etiquette For Business Professionals

Below I am writing tips on Email Etiquette For Business Professionals. hope you will get benefits out of these tips.

Include a clear, direct subject line

Examples of a good subject line include “Meeting date changed,” “Quick question about your presentation,” or “Suggestions for the proposal.”

“People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line. Choose one that lets readers know you are addressing their concerns or business issues.”

Use a professional email address

If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account — whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences — you should be careful when choosing that address.

You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who’s sending the email. Never use email addresses (perhaps remnants of your grade-school days) that are not appropriate for use in the workplace, such as “babygirl@…” or “beerlover@…” — no matter how much you love a cold brew.

Think twice before hitting “reply all”

No one wants to read emails from 20 people when it has nothing to do with them. They could just ignore the emails, but many people get notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up messages on their computer screens. Refrain from hitting “reply all” unless you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email.

Use professional salutations

The relaxed nature of our writings should not affect the salutation in an email. Hey is a very informal salutation and generally it should not be used in the workplace. And Yo is not okay either. Use Hi or Hello instead.

I also advise against shortening anyone’s name. Say “Hi Michael,” unless you’re certain he prefers to be called “Mike.”

Use exclamation points sparingly

If you choose to use an exclamation point, use only one to convey excitement.

People sometimes get carried away and put a number of exclamation points at the end of their sentences. The result can appear too emotional or immature. “Exclamation points should be used sparingly in writing.

Be cautious with humour

Humour can easily get lost in translation without the right tone or facial expressions. In a professional exchange, it’s better to leave humour out of emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think is funny might not be funny to someone else.

Something perceived as funny when spoken may come across very differently when written. When in doubt, leave it out.

Keep in mind that people from different cultures speak and write differently

Miscommunication can easily occur due to cultural differences, especially in the writing form when we can’t see each other’s body language. Tailor your message depending on the receiver’s cultural background or how well you know them.

A good rule to keep in mind, is that high-context cultures (Japanese, Arab, or Chinese) want to get to know you before doing business with you. Therefore, it may be common for business associates from these countries to be more personal in their writings. On the other hand, people from low-context cultures (German, American, or Scandinavian) prefer to get to the point very quickly.

Reply to your emails — even if the email wasn’t intended for you

It’s difficult to reply to every email message ever sent to you, but I suggest you should try to. This includes when the email was accidentally sent to you, especially if the sender is expecting a reply. A reply isn’t necessary, but serves as good email etiquette, especially if this person works in the same company or industry as you.

Here’s an example reply: “I know you’re very busy, but I don’t think you meant to send this email to me. And I wanted to let you know so you can send it to the correct person.”

Proofread every message

Your mistakes won’t go unnoticed by the recipients of your email. “And, depending upon the recipient, you may be judged for making them.

Don’t rely on spell-checkers. Read and re-read your email a few times, preferably aloud, before sending it off.

One supervisor intended to write ‘Sorry for the inconvenience.’ But he relied on his spell-check and ended up writing ‘Sorry for the incontinence.’

Add the email address at last

You don’t want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message. Even when you are replying to a message, it is a good precaution to delete the recipient’s address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent.

Check the attachments to be attached

Before hitting the send button check all the files to be attached with the mails. Sometimes senders forget to attach the attachments and communication lost in between. For a better communication complete all the checks before sending the email.

Double-check that you have selected the correct recipient

pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email’s “To” line. It’s easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake.

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